1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cups, and particularly to an insulated beverage container, such as a coffee cup, tea cup, or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Beverage containers, such as cups for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soup and the like, are typically formed from expanded polystyrene (EPS) or similar materials. EPS is an efficient thermal insulator for maintaining the beverage at a desired temperature for an extended period of time. Such cups further provide a thermal barrier between the hot or cold temperature of the beverage and the user's hand. However, EPS cups are generally considered to be environmentally unfriendly due to the fact that EPS is not biodegradable. As a result, their use has been banned in some municipalities.
Additionally, in order to print EPS cups, a slow and relatively costly off-line printing process must be used because the cups must be printed after they have been formed, and their relatively rough surface does not permit high-resolution printing. Conventional single-wall paper containers are generally considered to be more environmentally friendly than EPS cups, but they often have poor thermal insulating properties. Thus, when using paper cups, it is common to “double cup”, which is the practice of serving a hot beverage in two stacked single-wall paper cups in order to provide some level of insulation. This process, however, is both expensive and wasteful.
As an alternative, cup sleeves may be utilized. Cup sleeves are wrapped around a single-wall paper cup in order to provide thermal insulation for keeping beverages hot and the hands of the user comfortable. Cup sleeves, however, are typically assembled and placed onto the cup when the beverage is served. This process requires additional labor and slows the speed of service. Further, the need for cups and sleeves requires additional and simultaneous purchasing, additional storage space, and additional inventory management. Cup sleeves further have a tendency to fall off of the cups, do not conveniently fit in all vehicle cup holders, and further cover the graphics printed on the cup.
As a further alternative, multilayered paper cups are sometimes used. Such cups typically include at least three layers, which include some form of an inner cup made from paper and an outer cover or wrapper to provide insulation. The wrapper typically forms a multiple ply sheet having at least one base sheet and at least one corrugated or embossed sheet adhered to the base sheet. Although thermally insulated and strong, such cups are expensive to manufacture because the corrugated or embossed sheet must be adhered to the base sheet in order to cover the entire surface of the base sheet through a lamination process. This is a process in which adhesive, such as hot melt or heated polyethylene, or a paste adhesive, such as a starch-based cold glue, is applied either to the surface of the embossed sheet or the base sheet, and the two sheets are pressed together to form a multiple ply insulating sheet. The wrapper is then cut out of this multiple ply sheet and wrapped around and adhered to an inner cup. The process of laminating the sheets together is both expensive and wasteful.
Further, there is a significant amount of value-added multiple ply sheet trim scrap, which is wasted when blanking the wrapper. There is also a significant amount of adhesive required to secure the embossed sheet across the entire surface of the base sheet, which is typically done along all of the tips of the corrugations or embossments. The printing process is further expensive because either the base sheet must be printed prior to laminating, which causes significant registration and distortion issues after the sheets are laminated together, or the sheet is printed after the multiple plies are laminated. This printing process is difficult because of the thickness and stiffness of the multiple ply sheet and the excess compressibility of the sheet. Additionally, it is difficult to wrap or bend the multiple ply laminated wrapper around an inner cup because of the limited flexibility of thick laminated paperboard.
It would be desirable to provide a thermally insulated beverage container that is easily disposable, formed from biodegradable materials, and that is easy to manufacture, without either excess labor or expense involved. Thus, an insulated beverage container solving the aforementioned problems is desired.